Читать интересную книгу Английский язык с Крестным Отцом - Илья Франк

(to cringe – съеживаться /от страха/) away, trying to hide his head and face in the

hollow of his shoulders. His shirt ripped away in Sonny's hand.

What followed then was sickening. Sonny began beating the cowering Carlo with his

fists, cursing him in a thick, rage-choked voice. Carlo, despite his tremendous physique,

offered no resistance, gave no cry for mercy or protest. Coach and Sally Rags dared not

interfere. They thought Sonny meant to kill his brother-in-law and had no desire to share

his fate. The kids playing stickball gathered to curse the driver who had made them

scatter, but now were watching with awestruck interest. They were tough kids but the

sight of Sonny in his rage silenced them. Meanwhile another car had drawn up behind

Sonny's and two of his bodyguards jumped out. When they saw what was happening

they too dared not interfere. They stood alert, ready to protect their chief if any

bystanders had the stupidity to try to help Carlo.

What made the sight sickening was Carlo's complete subjection, but it was perhaps

this that saved his life. He clung to the iron railings with his hands so that Sonny could

not drag him into the street and despite his obvious equal strength, still refused to fight

back. He let the blows rain on his unprotected head and neck until Sonny's rage ebbed.

Finally, his chest heaving, Sonny looked down at him and said, "You dirty bastard, you

ever beat up my sister again I'll kill you."

These words released the tension. Because of course, if Sonny intended to kill the

man he would never have uttered the threat. He uttered it in frustration because he

could not carry it out. Carlo refused to look at Sonny. He kept his head down and his

hands and arms entwined in the iron railing. He stayed that way until the car roared off

and he heard Coach say in his curiously paternal voice, "OK, Carlo, come on into the

store. Let's get out of sight."

It was only then that Carlo dared to get out of his crouch against the stone steps of the

stoop and unlock his hands from the railing. Standing up, he could see the kids look at

him with the staring, sickened faces of people who had witnessed the degradation of a

fellow human being. He was a little dizzy but it was more from shock, the raw fear that

had taken command of his body; he was not badly hurt despite the shower of heavy

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blows. He let Coach lead him by the arm into the back room of the candy store and put

ice on his face, which, though it was not cut or bleeding, was lumpy with swelling

bruises. The fear was subsiding now and the humiliation he had suffered made him sick

to his stomach so that he had to throw up (вырвать). Coach held his head over the sink,

supported him as if he were drunk, then helped him upstairs to the apartment and made

him lie down in one of the bedrooms. Carlo never noticed that Sally Rags had

disappeared.

Sally Rags had walked down to Third Avenue and called Rocco Lampone to report

what had happened. Rocco took the news calmly and in his turn called his caporegime,

Pete Clemenza. Clemenza groaned and said, "Oh, Christ, that goddamn Sonny and his

temper," but his finger had prudently clicked down on the hook so that Rocco never

heard his remark.

Clemenza called the house in Long Beach and got Tom Hagen. Hagen was silent for

a moment and then he said, "Send some of your people and cars out on the road to

Long Beach as soon as you can, just in case Sonny gets held up by traffic or an

accident. When he gets sore like that he doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Maybe

some of our friends on the other side will hear he was in town. You never can tell."

Clemenza said doubtfully, "By the time I could get anybody on the road, Sonny will be

home. That goes for the Tattaglias too."

"I know," Hagen said patiently. "But if something out of the ordinary happens, Sonny

may be held up. Do the best you can, Pete."

Grudgingly Clemenza called Rocco Lampone and told him to get a few people and

cars and cover the road to Long Beach. He himself went out to his beloved Cadillac and

with three of the platoon (взвод; полицейский отряд [pl∂’tu:n]) of guards who now

garrisoned his home, started over the Atlantic Beach Bridge, toward New York City.

One of the hangers-on (hanger-on – прихлебатель, приспешник) around the candy

store, a small bettor on the payroll of the Tattaglia Family as an informer, called the

contact he had with his people. But the Tattaglia Family had not streamlined (to

streamline – придавать обтекаемую форму; хорошо налаживать, подготовить) itself

for the war, the contact still had to go all the way through the insulation layers before he

finally got to the caporegime who contacted the Tattaglia chief. By that time Sonny

Corleone was safely back in the mall, in his father's house, in Long Beach, about to face

his father's wrath.

Chapter 18

The war of 1947 between the Corleone Family and the Five Families combined

against them proved to be expensive for both sides. It was complicated by the police

pressure put on everybody to solve the murder of Captain McCluskey. It was rare that

operating officials of the Police Department ignored political muscle that protected

gambling and vice operations, but in this case the politicians were as helpless as the

general staff of a rampaging (to rampage [rжm’peıdG] – неистовствовать,

буйствовать), looting army whose field officers refuse to follow orders.

This lack of protection did not hurt the Corleone Family as much as it did their

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opponents. The Corleone group depended on gambling for most of its income, and was

hit especially hard in its "numbers" or "policy" branch of operations. The runners who

picked up the action were swept into police nets and usually given a medium

shellacking (полное поражение; основательная порка) before being booked. Even

some of the "banks" were located and raided, with heavy financial loss. The

"bankers," .90 calibers in their own right, complained to the caporegimes, who brought

their complaints to the family council table. But there was nothing to be done. The

bankers were told to go out of business. Local Negro free-lancers were allowed to take

over the operation in Harlem, the richest territory, and they operated in such scattered

fashion that the police found it hard to pin them down.

After the death of Captain McCluskey, some newspapers printed stories involving him

with Sollozzo. They published proof that McCluskey had received large sums of money

in cash, shortly before his death. These stories had been planted by Hagen, the

information supplied by him. The Police Department refused to confirm or deny these

stories, but they were taking effect. The police force got the word through informers,

through police on the Family payroll, that McCluskey had been a rogue cop

(продажный полицейский; rogue [r∂ug] – жулик, мошенник).

Not that he had taken money or clean graft (взятка, подкуп), there was no rank-and-

file onus to that (за это бы никто не бросил в него камень; rank-and-file – члены

какой-либо организации /исключая руководителей или офицеров/, рядовые члены;

onus – бремя; ответственность, долг ['∂un∂s]). But that he had taken the dirtiest of

dirty money; murder and drugs money. And in the morality of policemen, this was

unforgivable.

Hagen understood that the policeman believes in law and order in a curiously

innocent way. He believes in it more than does the public he serves. Law and order is,

after all, the magic from which he derives his power, individual power which he

cherishes as nearly all men cherish individual power. And yet there is always the

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smoldering resentment (тлеющее, теплящееся негодование, возмущение, чувство

обиды [rı'zentm∂nt]) against the public he serves. They are at the same time his ward

(опека, подопечный) and his prey (добыча). As wards they are ungrateful, abusive

(оскорбительный, бранный; /здесь/ оскорбляющие [∂'bju:sıv]; to abuse [∂'bju:z] –

оскорблять, ругать) and demanding. As prey they are slippery and dangerous, full of

guile (обман, хитрость, вероломство [gaıl]). As soon as one is in the policeman's

clutches (когти, лапы) the mechanism of the society the policeman defends marshals

(выстраивать /войска/) all its resources to cheat him of his prize. The fix is put in by

politicians. Judges give lenient (мягкий, снисходительный [‘li:nj∂nt]) suspended

sentences to the worst hoodlums. Governors of the States and the President of the

United States himself give full pardons, assuming that respected lawyers have not

already won his acquittal (оправдание /юр./ [∂'kwıtl]). After a time the cop learns. Why

should he not collect the fees these hoodlums are paying? He needs it more. His

children, why should they not go to college? Why shouldn't his wife shop in more

expensive places? Why shouldn't he himself get the sun with a winter vacation in

Florida? After all, he risks his life and that is no joke.

But usually he draws the line against accepting dirty graft. He will take money to let a

bookmaker operate. He will take money from a man who hates getting parking tickets or

speeding tickets. He will allow call girls and prostitutes to ply their trade; for a

consideration. These are vices natural to a man. But usually he will not take a payoff for

drugs, armed robberies, rape, murder and other assorted (смешанный) perversions. In

his mind these attack the very core (сердцевина) of his personal authority and cannot

be countenanced (countenance [‘kauntın∂ns] – выражение лица; to keep one’s

countenance – не показывать вида; to countenance – терпеть, одобрять,

санкционировать).

The murder of a police Captain was comparable to regicide (цареубийство

['redGısaıd]). But when it became known that McCluskey had been killed while in the

company of a notorious narcotics peddler, when it became known that he was

suspected of conspiracy to murder, the police desire for vengeance began to fade. Also,

after all, there were still mortgage (заклад, ипотека; закладная ['mo:gıdG]) payment to

be made, cars to be paid off, children to be launched (to launch – бросать, метать;

запускать /ракету/) into the world. Without their "sheet" money (деньги, получаемые

по списку /с нарушителей закона, кормящихся на их участке/); sheet – простыня;

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лист бумаги, печатный лист), policemen had to scramble (карабкаться, продираться,

бороться за обладание) to make ends meet. Unlicensed peddlers were good for lunch

money. Parking ticket payoffs came to nickels and dimes (nickel – монета в 5 центов;

dime – монета в 10 центов). Some of the more desperate even began shaking down

suspects (homosexuals, assaults (assault – нападение; изнасилование [∂'so:lt]) and

batteries (battery – побои, оскорбление действием /юр./) in the precinct squad rooms

(в полицейских участках; squad [skwod] – /воен./ группа, команда /здесь – на

дежурстве/). Finally the brass relented (начальство смягчилось; brass [brα:s] –

латунь, желтая медь; начальство, старший офицер /воен. жарг/). They raised the

prices and let the Families operate. Once again the payoff sheet (список выплат) was

typed up by the precinct bagman (странствующий торговец; коммивояжер /здесь

имеется в виду (насмешливо) полицейский, собирающий свою «долю»/), listing

every man assigned to the local station and what his cut was each month. Some

semblance of social order was restored.

It had been Hagen's idea to use private detectives to guard Don Corleone's hospital

room. These were, of course, supplemented by the much more formidable soldiers of

Tessio's regime. But Sonny was not satisfied even with this. By the middle of February,

when the Don could be moved without danger, he was taken by ambulance to his home

in the mall. The house had been renovated so that his bedroom was now a hospital

room with all equipment necessary for any emergency. Nurses specially recruited and

checked had been hired for round-the-clock care, and Dr. Kennedy, with the payment of

a huge fee, had been persuaded to become the physician in residence to this private

hospital. At least until the Don would need only nursing care.

The mall itself was made impregnable. Button men were moved into the extra houses,

the tenants sent on vacations to their native villages in Italy, all expenses paid.

Freddie Corleone had been sent to Las Vegas to recuperate and also to scout out

(разведать) the ground for a Family operation in the luxury hotel-gambling casino

complex that was springing up. Las Vegas was part of the West Coast empire still

neutral and the Don of that empire had guaranteed Freddie's safety there. The New

York five Families had no desire to make more enemies by going into Vegas after

Freddie Corleone. They had enough trouble on their hands in New York.

Dr. Kennedy had forbade any discussion of business in front of the Don. This edict

was completely disregarded. The Don insisted on the council of war being held in his

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room. Sonny, Tom Hagen, Pete Clemenza and Tessio gathered there the very first night

of his homecoming.

Don Corleone was too weak to speak much but he wished to listen and exercise veto

powers. When it was explained that Freddie had been sent to Las Vegas to learn the

gambling casino business, he nodded his head approvingly. When he learned that

Bruno Tattaglia had been killed by Corleone button men he shook his head and sighed.